It noted that lending dipped slightly between January and February this year to reach £13.3bn last month, but this seasonal fall is outweighed by the large annual increase.
The number of mortgage approvals in February was 26% higher than a year ago rising from 63,245 transactions to 79,428. Of this, house purchase approvals accounted for 45,892 agreed mortgages, an increase of 20% year-on-year while remortgaging rose by 31% to 25,073.
The trade association’s data showed that unsecured borrowing by households was growing at around 6% a year reflecting low interest rates and relatively strong household finances.
Richard Woolhouse, chief economist at the BBA, said: “Mortgage borrowing remained buoyant in February. It appears that borrowers are continuing to try to get ahead of the increases in Stamp Duty for buy-to-let and second home buyers scheduled to come into effect next month.
“Consumer confidence is also robust. Households are increasingly taking advantage of low interest rates by taking on more unsecured borrowing.”
